Practical Ne guidelines for the design of flip buckets plunge pools | By P. J. Mason, Senior Technical Director* ‘ne of the most economic and effective ways of dissipating the hydraulic energy of flood waters Is to project the flows in the form of free trajec~ tory jets to some point where a plunge pool can form in the river bed downstream. It has been one of the most popular forms of energy dissipation in recent years, but one for which few definitive and comprehensive guide- lines exist. This applies not only to the conceptual and detailed design of flip buckets, but also to reliably dimensioning the downstream plunge pool. The latter is vital to ensure that permanent works do not become threatened by the passage of major floods. This article looks at both aspects in an attempt to formalize guide- lines for the practical design of such works. In theory it should be possible to construct some form of flip bucket for any combination of flow and head drop. In practice. economics and dam site topography will impose limits. A survey of 370 prototype energy dissipators from 61 countries' found that their trouble-free use could be broadly described by the ranges shown in Fig. Infact, all, flip buckes, ski jumps and free overfalls fll to the ight of| line A-B. ‘The use of large scale. free-trajectory jets for hydraulic energy dissipation at dams was pioneered with the con- struction of the “ski-jump” spillway chutes sited over the power station of L'Aigle dam in France; similar schemes followed. The technique quickly spread to the now more common “flip buckets”, sited at the end of stand-alone chutes. Similar design rules and considerations apply in ‘both cases. For ease of reference. these have been prepared under a series of sub headings, though of necessity, many of the areas interrelate. The design flood International practice for major dams is to ensure the safe passage of the probable maximum flood (FM) of. in some fase, the 1 in 10 000 year flood. Such flood should not Cause serious damage to the permanent works. Spillway chutes will be designed to accommodate such routed floods, but perhaps with some side wall overspiash atthe peak. The likely duration ofthe flood will also be an impor- tant consideration. It is usually uneconomic to proportion energy dissipators for their optimum performance at the for in fact, ican be just as important to look carefully at tauch more frequent flows. Optimum hydraulic design is usually made forthe 1:200 to 1:1000 year event, withthe 1500 year flow a commonly used option. This will be referred to as the hydraulic design flood (HOt) where itis {Quoted below in this article The invert profile ‘The most usual invert profiles take the form of simple, ver- tical, circular curves. Elevatorski® quotes one case on the spillway of the then proposed Anchor dam in the USA, “Si Alene ib Parmers Ld avy Howse. 27 London Roa, Reding evane AOS fa, OX 0 where model testing indicated splashing and vibration ‘when a circular arc was used. The present author knows of no similar cases and, in his experience, a circular curve has always been satisfactory. In at least one case, a bucket for high velocity flow has been formed using intersecting plane surfaces, Peterka? goes as far as to state that, “simplified buckets formed by plane... surfaces can be made to be as effective as those using warped or compound surfaces”, However, in the author's experience, few designers would have confidence in a bucket invert for high velocity flow formed by anything other than smooth curves. Invert radii ‘The most common way of defining the permissible radius R for a bucket invert isin terms of the flow depth hy within the bucket. Recommended values for R vary from 3hs to ‘8h. A commonly used value, for which there is minimal disruption to hydraulic streamlines, is Shy. too small radius will lead to internal shearing of the flow in the bucket, which may in tum, ease low instability and strwc- (ural vibration. {t may also mean thatthe angle of jt dis- ccharge will be less than the bucket lip angle. Neither of these are necessarily disadvantageous, provided that ade- quate model testing has been carie out. ‘On the stet-lined buckets sited immediately downstream of low level pressure gates at the Victoria dam in Sri Lanka, R= 25h The flow does not smoothly follow the bucket invert, but rather “tumbles” over itself. This increases the intemal turbulence of the jet, which lands downsteam asa series of droplets. ‘A compromise sometimes adopted to minimize bucket size and cost isto use compound radii and to consider both the PMP and HDF. The radius Rat the base of the incoming spillway chute should nat be less than hy fr the ror. The eit radius Rs may then be tightened {0 3h, provided that it ‘dcr capi 0) foto 2) Fig I: Preferred range of uae forthe main yes of disspator.{snot less than Sh forthe HDF. ‘Various other formulae for bucket radius have been quoted from time to time, using factors such as: depth of flow over the crest, height of dam, height of bucket lip above ‘ailwater, among others. These have generally been ‘developed for particular applications and will not be quoted here. Internal hydraulic pressures and lip curvature Unil the 1950s, the structural design of flip buckets often ignored the high centrifugal pressures generated by flow deflection, Gumensky* noted that, in his experience. “The fffect of centrifugal force in deflected streams is seldom valuated. and the wall of Buckets often remain standing in 9 condition of near failure”. The formula he proposed for évaluating maximum iteral pressure was alteie Fig 2. Typlal darbmion of presaure within lp bucket. (Ce where P = hydrodynamic pressure within the bucket, v = flow velocity, and water density. Other expressions have been developed using an irrot- tional vonex analogy". "All these formulae consider the maximum possible pres- sure by assuming thatthe flow lines become circalar and follow the profile ofthe bucket: in fact, they wil distor. Only if the bucket is sufficiently long will the pressure feach such a maximum value. Furthermore, the distortion Caused by the bucket will affect the flow lines onthe chute ‘pstream, causing some pressure rise before the invert exr~ wane begins. This is significant with regard to positioning joint in te invert slab, [t would be unwise to locate a joint Unnecessarily at a point which might be affected by such 2 fe and fom where high uplift pressures could be commu- ricaed elsewhere. Where sich joints are unavoidable, care- fal attention should be paid to sealing and to possibly providing relief underdrainage. or design purposes, itis clearly preferably to consider rot only the maximum pressure inthe bucket, but how that pressure will vary along the bucket length, Rouse’ consi Ered this by means of simple flow netsketching, with quit effective results, More complex analytical solutions ave been proposed by Tio-Chun Chen and Yun Sheng Yu' and by Lenau and Cassidy”. Design charts have been by the US Waterways Experimental Station” and Pateia?,Fig2 is adapted from the latter, and give an indi cation of the variation that can be expected. For major ‘works, pressures should be obtained from hydraulic model tests. ‘Careful attention needs to be paid to pressures at the bucket lip. It ean be seen from Fig.2 that internal pressures, will drop sharply over the downstream part ofthe bucket. If {or any reason the iver flattens towards the lp, the pres- ‘ure dfop can increase, reaching values lower than atmo- Spheric. "This is another reason why some designers prefer {tighten radi in the downstream part of flip buckes. It is (generally considered bad practice to flatten the curvature in this regio, unless heads and veloc- ites are modest and model testing has shown it tobe acceptable. Pressures at the bucket lip can also be affected by the angle at ‘which the lip falls away down Stream of the hydraulic invert. Fig.2 Suggests thatthe angle between the projected line ofthe invert and the ownstream face ofthe lip should not be less than about 40". The pre- Sent author's preference is for freater values, in conjunction with Some form of downstream walkway for lip inspection. Side wall design ‘As noted by Gumensky’, the hydro- dynamic pressures. developed ‘within flip Buckets willbe transmit- ted to the side wals. These must be designed against shear and bending, Gnd with any supporting invert designed to resist the total thrust, ‘The pressure distribution on proto- {ype walls has been shown to be fon-linear: this is a result ofvariation in fluid density with air cetrainment. Although it is gener- ally agreed that high Hid pressures | "= YD0 ‘Table I— Characterisics of various protorype fip bockets (note the ranges and valve in bucket regions will tend to drive Be 2 z 7m wen] cin] ce | cain | 2) | cm Tae ‘out much of the air, entrainment |_Dam | Country co) | 7 Spec tecersneuas [See eee | 33) He] B.[ etl ae | as] SelB™| ‘clocky Seal 18) 3 | S18 § igh veloy ches, Tis will aso | Camps, |S” | GSie| aha] ital ir° |-208 | 8” | 28] Sas SH ad ciert just ($851 3) 23] ie | Zar | Bs | $5°| ap] 2 7 c= ‘Hanwell =| USA 16000} 906) 451 ‘H9 | 32, | 1004] 94 | 29 Approximations to side wall *) Hirakud India 33.626 648} 396| 255 | 254 | 136 | 535] 1526] 6 seigtinndigs osc oased cine || Heme |B, BSL S| eS] is | Fae | BE] Ge] BM) S$ on solid! water. or ona greater ai | Resee™ | Soheu | pamol 3 | s6_| 6 | Sas | 2 | Sar] zo | $4 | a nine depth with slower ets. | Fy |tRK™ [ital ta | ga eS | Pus | 388 | das | aa] $3 tive water density. Shear forces on | P.K.Le Roux| South Africa] § 650| 144 * | 327 | 287] 25 | 783/16 | 56 the wals wil bee same In a ge Ati) Se] ite| anal Set | 387 | ea | e| ae] the was wil be same in bot | rear |USA (stam) 355) 88] tes | 3a | 768 | 348] Bat) oo cases bat ending momen see ee [asl 8] OT) dee | ce | oes | eas | Bae] ligher in the latter case. It is rec- TyipeiaS | Pakistan |18527] 174 | + | 397 | Sis | 443 | 86 | 194| 3 ommended that the latter case be | Teaughat | India 22074) 111 | 39 | 245 | 453) 185 | 409] 1981) 44 SEope forthe, Some compre. | Tani [ts [Saat] Sha] | 285 | TP | 18a | 52] S| $3 toot or rohnioneaog soy “Ines cee Zor ort factor might be possible in the case ‘of the PMP. provided adequate anal- ysis or model testing has taken place. Lip angle ‘The inver Single at the lip, together with the velocity, will determine how far the jet will wavel, Quoted values for rec- ommended lip ange ae generally ofthe order of 15° 0 40" to the horizontal. A smaller lip angle will generally reduce the size and cost ofthe bucket, as well as encouraging an ‘early transition to fee jet action. In fact. the Key issue isnot the lip angle, but the angle at which the jet strikes the downstream tailwater. Where buckets are close tthe til water level the two angles will be similar. Where the flow {s released high above the river. such as at L'Aigle dam in France the lip canbe virually horizontal and sill achieve a reasonable allwater impact angle Tn general, the alwater entrance angle should not be lest than 15° to the horizomal in order to avoid “skimming” flow and uncontrolled lateral scour downstream. The most Yan ques som "Te eae ee wt aly eo widely adopted range of entrance angle, and usually bucket lip angle also, is between 30° and 35°. This gives a good compromise between economy and projected jet distance. Lip elevation and the onset of free jet action ‘The bucket lip should normally be sited above the tailwater level forall flow conditions. This is especially advisable on high head schemes where high velocity flows meeting a relatively sill tailwater could lead 10 cavitation and flow instability. The lips on the original flip buckets at Guri dam in Venezuela were effectively destroyed by cavitation resulting from such an effect. In setting this elevation, and indeed the elevations of other works, it may be prudent to allow fora future rise in the tailwater level at times of food because of rock bar formation downstream. Conversely, ‘where downstream erosion has stabilized. flip jet action ean lower tailwaters. (This is discussed further under a separate sub-head- ing below). Im the case of ungated chutes, flow change may be gradual. Free trajectory action will only take place when the chute flow has built ‘up sufficient energy to displace the ‘water ponded in the flip bucket. Uncil that time, a hydraulic jump will form in the bucket. As the flow decreases, free trajectory action ‘will continue to a point well below that at which it originally com- ‘menced. A small radius bucket will encourage early free jet action. Conversely, some buckets have been deliberately oversized to act as hydraulic jump basins for the ‘more common, small retum period floods, only flipping at major events. This may be especially desirable where the rock is particu- larly erodible and where an ungated crest will give rise to long periods Fig. 3. Longitudinal secion on Asprokremnas flip buck. ‘of low flow. In this context, an interesting ‘tater Power & Dem Conseructon SeptemberiOctober 1993‘bucket is that provided for the nos dam in Cyprus (see Fig.3). Low flows dissipate their ‘energy within the bucket, over~ spilling through high-level side ‘weirs into a diversion tunnel below. At high flows, free jet action ‘occurs, with flow depths below the side weir level. Infact, itis more ‘common 10 treat the bucket lip as a ‘weir and provide suitable armour- ing and scour protection imme suly downstream. "A common Indian solution to low flows over moderate head gravity sections is to site bucket lips below the tailwater level and to operate them as submerged roller buckets. Well established design ccurves exist! which show when such buckets will sweep out. On a rising flow, this is generally when the ratio of the water ‘depth in the bucket to the tllwater depth above the invert, reaches about 0.3. Submerged roller action recommences when the ratio reaches about 0.2. Lakhsmana and co- ‘authors! also note a condition at low Froude numbers ‘where flows are unable to break clear of the ailwater, even though submerged roller action has ceased. Flow separation and deflection Separating the projected fw using spiter teeth can be an effective way of reducing downstream scour. The bucket fon the Massinga dam in Kenya features such profiled teeth, ‘They are radiused, have a projection angle of 42°, and they oocupy 60 per ceatof the lip length. Flows between the teeth are projected at S*. The design was based on one developed for a dam elsewhere”. Such teeth should in general not be used for flow velocities much above toms. 'An altemative for use at higher velocities was adopted for the Magat dam in the Philippines. A wide bucket with a conventional circular radius was formed with an intermit teally varying lip elevation. This projects the flow in a Series of varying angle jets, while leaving a smooth bucket inven, fee of appurtenances. "ets leaving the sides ofa bucket wil tend to spread Iat- cenally. This may need to be corrected by inwardly facing Splays atthe ends of the side walls. Typical anges for such Splays are about S*, although various factors will affect this if this is cial, it shobld be resolved by model test- ing. Ta some cases it may be necessary to change the horizon- tal angle of the chute lows to beter re-postion the jet in telation to the river downstream. Accomplishing this on a high velocity chute is dificult, a5 cross-falls can only be ‘Opvimized for one paricular flow. Use of deflector buckets Fone alternative. Such deflector or ‘sispersion’ buckets for the concentrated tunnel outlet flows at Fontana dam and ‘Trinity dam are quoted by Peterka?. A design better adapted qo wider chute flow is that used on the Nilkappu dam in Sapan The principle is shown in Fig. 4 Other design details Taternal bucket surfaces should be formed using a high Walty and durable concrete. Cement contents should gen- Sally be not less than 300 kp’, and waecement ratios Fig. Lateral deflection by means of an inclined wedge. velocity flow finish. ‘Bocket lips have, in the past, been formed using cast-in steel angles. This is no longer common, nor to be recom- ‘mended, as local concrete placing, corrosion and differen- tial erosion between steel and concrete, all present potential problems. ‘Inspection and maintenance can be improved by making buckets self-draining, although this is not obligatory. The spillway buckets at the Tarbela dam in Pakistan, for exam- ple, remain full of standing water after operation has Ceased. Perhaps the ideal bucket is one which drains natu- rally by virtue of its geometry. Where a drain is provided, it may be sited in the invert or at the base of a side wall. ‘Small diameter drains ae preferable to minimize flow sep- ‘aration and cavitation during operation. For very high ‘Velocity flows, flush-mounted stainless-steel plates, with a series of small (50 mm diameter) holes leading to @ larger drain behind, have been used. The free jet trajectory “Theoretical trajectories can be computed from the basic ‘Newtonian laws of motion: graphs based on their use are ‘easily available™ Ia practice, air resistance will reduce the horizontal throw, ands for high velocity jets, this reduction may be considerable, Various attempts have been made to ‘quantify this shortfall. Martins'* has recommended the Spproach developed by Zvorykin. A more widely used ‘method is that proposed by Elevatorski?. This is simply a ‘modified version of the free trajectory jet equation, based fn observations on the model and prototype of Pine Flat dam in the USA, and correlated with other data from Panasenkov and De Vito. The equation proposed by Elava- tora is: r # afsaze where: T = horizontal throw of the jet, A’ = head between eservoir and tailwater, Z = head between reservoir and ‘bucket invert level, and a= lip angle. Tt should be noted that no allowance is made in the equa tion for friction losses on the spillway chute. in effect, the ‘equation deals with these together with losses in the air. For this reason, care should, be exercised when using the expression ia conjunction with particularly long chutes. In Such eases, recourse should be made to actual jet velocitiesFig. 5. Scour hole slope predictions according to Tarsimovich. Tailwater levels A reduction in tilwater levels, a8 a result of the horizontal force from free jets, proved io be & problem for turbine operation at Guri dam'*, The situation was alleviated by iSeming the bce pangs of 32 and 38 p45 raps attempting to quantify this effect have been pro- dluced?, but the resuls should be treated with cation. Con- ‘versely, tallwater levels have been raised because of rock bar formation resulting from plunge pool scour’. Clearly, care must be taken in estimating longterm tailwater levels, and regular monitoring may be advantageous Plunge pool scour depth The depth of rock Scour under free falling jets has been the subject of continuing research, stating with the work of ‘Schoklitsch'* in 1932. This was followed by Veronese” in 1937, who developed a formula often quoted by the ‘USBR®. ‘A comprehensive review of other scour depth formulae was underaken by the present author" In tta, 31 formu- Tae were identified, dating from 1952 to 1981, and their Potential accuracy was assessed against data from 47 mod- els and 26 prototypes. It was concluded that the most accu- rate form of expression was the relatively simple formula: pant 8) where: D = scour depth below tailwater level, d = bed ‘material particle size, and q = unt flow. Values forthe con- stants K, x, y and 2 Varied considerably between the differ- ‘ent authors, ‘It was also noticed that the inclusion of tailwater depth by one author increased accuracy. As a result, the present author developed a revised formula" as a best fit for all the ‘model data, and as an upper bound to the prototype data. In ‘metric form, ths is: He 8 Pe oe) ‘where da = bed material mean particle size. In the absence ‘of any other data, the mean bed panicle size da can be taken as 0.25 m. ‘This equation not only proved a best fit forthe available data, but is dimensionally balanced. Further work™ has demonstrated that the head drop H may not directly affect the scour depth, other than by varying the amount of 2 ‘entrained in the plunge pool. This in turn affects the forces, fon particles of bed material. An alternative expression ‘which better describes the scour process was therefore developed: D=327 . as EH a pas CO o in which the volumetric air to water ratio in the plunge pool is as defined by Ervine”. It is accepted that Eq. (4) is {he most practical expression for normal design use at dams. The upstream slope the upstream slope of scour holes cam be used to ‘determine the likelihood of bucket undermining. A graph to assess such slopes hag been pro- posed by Taraimovich, as shown recon | a cron 8 18004 — in Fig. Fig.6 shows the results of this approsch compared with model and prototype scour profiles for Peace Canyon dam in Canada. The Taraimovich slope is projected back from a scour point, defined using a tangent from the jet trajec- tory taken to a depth defined by Eq (4). The correlations are excel- lent, but further checks using other prototypes would be valuable. The extent of the scour hole ‘Although various authors have attempted to define the horizontal extent of plunge pool scour, the only approach. with which the pre- nas rm pce Sent author bas had success that proposed by Blaisdell and Ander- Sone, This was developed for pipe Fig. 6. Upstream slopes forthe scour hole at Peace Canyon dam “ ‘outlets, but can be adapted for use in conjunction with narrow chutesby deriving a value for effective pipe diameter, ¢, based on the equivalent area of the discharging jet. Using this tech- ‘nique, it can be shown that: tao (sR) we (98Z) cy where, oe (say -® where: £ = length of the scour hole, Q = total flow, W = ‘width of the scour hole, b = breadth of flow within bucket, nd fy = flow depth in bucket. It is assumed that the maximum scour depth will occur ‘midway along the length of the hole, and that the shape of the hole in pian will be broadly elliptical. Blaisdell and ‘Anderson propose a method of locating the point of maxi ‘mum scour. An altemative is to plot the trajectory of the jet, extending i tangentially below the water Blaisdell and Anderson also distinguish between well formed conical holes, and others, where "beaching' leads to the uncontrolled development of lateral scour. They found that beaching would not occur provided that the bed mate- rial was greater than a given particle size defined as: “8Ge) oo ‘Although these formulae are convenient and simple to use, it should be remembered that they have been derived from work on pipe outlets. The success obtained by the pre- seat author in using them to check scour downstream of spillway chutes is likely to be limited to narrow chutes. ‘Another rule-of-thumb method states that the plunge pool scour width at surface level will be two to two-and-a-half times the width of the jet. This would clearly not apply to very wide chutes or barrages. Neither of these methods, nor the various others that have been proposed over the years, should be used as a sub- stitute for experienced judgement and/or model testing. Other aspects ‘Two regularly debated topics are the effets of geology and the effects of time on scour. Ceraily, major scour holes have developed in massive hard rocks such as granite and ‘gneiss. a5 well as In weaker sedimentary rocks. Furher- ‘ore thei development has often been rapid and the result of a single major flood. Interestingly, the hole shape tends to depend more on hydraulic factors than on geological ones. Variable geglogy in the plunge pool can, however, lead to problems™, as can asymmetrical flows and pro- longed flows, not originally designed for. ‘Other problems have included: saturation of neighbou ing ground andor switehyards with fine spray, raised fl water levels asa result of downstteam bar formations, and the production of high sediments, which have in ura affected downstream fish hatcheries. Major repairs as @ result of structural damage or erosion are rare, bt, where they occur, they ean be expensive. ‘A final aspect is finding appropriate techniques for hydraulically model testing plunge pool scour. This has been discussed elsewhere™ and ean vary from fixed bed to cohesive and non-cohesive mobile beds. Again, expert enced supervision of any testing is important, a i experi enced interpretation of the results. As always, such testing Should form an integral and interactive part ofthe design process and should not bean end in itself Conclusion _ ‘The flip bucket bas rightly earned a leading piace in the dissipation of high head energy at dams. Its «role which is bound to continue, with prototype experience during oad being te mala diving fore towards developing ever safer designs in the fuure. References ago. 61, The hoe of Hpi Ete Dip for Du Su es edo sue of Pr ee Disp Men 4+ Glntnsey,D. B. “Design of Side Walls in Chie and Spl wage remectons, Amecan Soci of Ci Enger, Vl is 5 Douna, J, H., “Discussions on the above Paper", Transtcsions, ‘Ameicaa Socleyof Civil Eaginger, Vol 11S 1954 6 Briton A Tremure ot Splvay Fp Baska”, Journal ‘Bras Dion Armenian Soci of Cel age. HS: 7 Rovse i “Enginerng Hydra" Joha Wiley & Sos inex New one USA T530 8 TosCHUW-Caen AO Yow Sito Yu, “Pressure Distibtions on Selvay lip Buse” owl ‘Division, American, fil Engineer. HY: 1988. 9 La Can Few tos 5 Fp Backes", oural Hydraulics Division, American Socey of Ce 10 US Ator Cons oF Excnetas, Hyde Design Ceri", US Aggy Waray Experimental Staion, Vicks, Mii, os 1 MePiansow, M. Bs Kata: M HA Sat of Baka Distipaior Characteristics", Journal Hyrealies Aa Engineers. YS, Paper 1256: June 12 Lata Swan A 9 conus, “erfgmanes of Ts: tory Buckets a low Froude Numbers”, Proceedings, 42nd Annual [Regeareh Seation. CBIP India: 1972 13 Anato, E.G. "Hydraulic and Mobile Bed Studies Relating 1 the Splllway Arringement of Hazelmere Dam, BHRA Fluid Eag- ip acetate ee eee oma ttnee EP ee eth at re Sone eeontan tn Eee ee snare ane Sobccea' ee re Det tan et Siri tt mar. peta apeaiee saa 1 aE arm Game ttt tee Aa escapes SSS gt (933 RIS; 196 i i 18 Dooowals D. Axo co-avrmons. “Scour from J ‘Be (AHR, Mianeapoi, USA: 1933. Venovase, "Eran de Food Val uno Scaro”, Ana ‘Wathingon, 2's, AND ARUMUGAM. K., “Free Jet Scour below Dams dod p Buccs” Jour! basics Dison ametsan S00 neers: February 1985 fEfecs of Ar Entrainment on Plunge Poo Scour”. Journal fydrutes Dison, Amen Sosy of Gr Engines 24 Tatanmoncr. | 1, "Deformations of Channels below High-Head Spillways on Rock Formations”: Hydrotechncal Construction; ‘September 1978. 25 Babe Wao avoenson CLP lg Pool Eaey sgt outa ngancs Division, Amen Sai Of Ciel Eapcar Mar 126 Mason, BJ, “Erosion of Plunge Pools Downsieam of Dams dve fie tin of es etn Je Proeenes intien of Cv Eapincers. Pat, Water Power & Dam Construction September/Oneber 1993 6